Vermin Tide Quest

Chapter 30

As Lily surveyed the scene of carnage of destruction and chaos, she looked at her mentor. "I suppose it is time to seek out the others?" she asked, examining her new arms. She smiled, as only an Other Worlder would recognize the Mark of Tzeentch on them, but with them came a new gift the old man called the Sight, and already she was enamored with the new vision it gave her, with eyes that shone a rainbow of color when she looked in the mirror. As the enraged mobs were winning, she would've liked to burn them to test her new powers, nut alas one must learn to let go of certain things.

"It is time." the old man agreed, as he summon forth a horse which entered the room. After hopping on it, Lily climbed on after him.

"Where to, my valiant knight?" she teased while pretending to move for his crotch, eliciting a tired and haggard sigh from the old man. The Daemon sitting on his shoulder simply chuckled as a Warp Rift opened, and the horse ran into it.

"You're doing that just to put me on edge."

"Yep!"

"By the Raven..." her mentor muttered as he rolled his eyes in annoyance, "...you better behave yourself, or I'm tossing you out into the Warp."

**POV SHIFT**

"Damn!" Sienna shouted, and stopped in her tracks as the others behind her saw a gleam in the mansion of their target in a window that flashed and disappeared. Their were finally clear of the village, with a last sweep being down by Ilias Kruez to drive off any remaining Mutants and capture Lilys' co-conspirators, as she turned to the rest of the Ubersreik Five, Lazarus and several of his men and women at arms, and turned to Kerillian. "That was the filthy Cultist responsible just left, along with one other, her mentor most likely." the Wood Elf then explained the situation, causing bitter groans to escape the lips of the zealots of Ilias. They had been worked up to a frenzy to find and kill the Witch, so to hear that Lily had escaped, as well as having possible aide in the manner in what she had done to the women, men, and children of Witch Hunt Village was another stab into the pain of what they found out about the situation

Put her sword away, the Bright Wizard looked at Saltzpyre. "So, what now? Investigate any evidence left behind?" the Witch Hunter grunted, his single eye glowering at the mansion.

"Any magical trappings and residue you can sense?"

"Not from here sir."

"Then we'll proceed with caution, if Lazarus is willing to help us locate any forbidden tomes and grimores what need burning." he said. "It'll help to also find out what they're planning and where their next destination is to stop their plans. Assuming said evidence is not false data to throw us off their scent, of course." he said. A quick exchange with Lazarus later, and Kerillian turned to the Witch Hunter.

"Lazarus says yes, if his followers also share in learning everything relevant."

"Well of course, our goals are aligned, and so too must our ability to combat the threats to come." Saltzpyre said, nodding to the man as he scratched at the stubble of his beard. With that, the group continued onwards. When they reached the entrance gate, the party saw two guards there with clear confusion at the smoke behind them, who were staring at the group in confusion. As one of them approached, he spoke in what was clearly a question, only to be answered by Saltzpyre running him through with his rapier, while Lazarus and his troop ran down the other as he fled, pummeling him with their fists until he was unconscious. Krieg then picked him up, tossed him over her shoulder, and carried him to the village to be judged for his part in its defilement.

As the rest entered, the first thing they saw was the cauldron simmering over a pentagram. Saltzpyre pointed to Bardin, who was still covered in gore and viscera as he had held his ground after getting split off from the group and surrounded by a horde of the Monsters. By the time he was recovered, the Dwarf had chopped apart at least three quarters of their numbers, the stubbornness and sheer grit typical of his race causing him to become a powerhouse of ax and shield amongst them, and drove them away. With a 'follow me' gesture, he pointed to the cauldron and walked towards it, silently encouraging him to watching his back while he investigated, and the others broke off into pairs.

The Dwarf then walked over, ax in hand in case someone jumped out from the shadows. One of the men yelped, and everyone turned to see him crawling away from a Iron Maiden, which opened up to reveal a fleshy interior meant entrap and suck prey dry. A quick fire bolt from Sienna, and it snapped shut, the expression of the face on it one of extreme pain. Bardin rushed it, and his ax slammed into one of the hinges, hacking it off. The Iron Maiden made a pained expression, while Kruber and Slatzpyre got on opposite sides, wrapping their arms around it.

"Tip it this way!" the Sergeant yelled, and it was thrown toppling to the ground, allowing Bardin to lop off the other two hinges, as it tried to silently plead for help. When the third was cut, its face froze, and when the two sides separated, the flesh could be seen shriveling up and drying out as though the moisture was being sucked out of it. With that, everything continued as normal for the party.

Several hours later, the Ubersreik Five and their allies left the mansion, and regrouped with those remaining in the village, where a crowd had gathered while the town militiamen and priest who actively participated in Lilys' activities and enabled her experiments with Dark Magic were awaiting judgment. Ulreik could be seen inspecting the line of prisoners, fingering the blade he carried as he practically gazed into the souls of the heretics before him. He in particular had a particularly angry countenance when he looked at the former priest of Ilias, and turned to the man who had replaced him. Currently, now that the initial rush of righteous fury and zeal had died down, there was murmuring among the people of Witch Hunt Village, as the dead around them were a testament of what they felt was their own failings. Even more so, now that the news has been sent out that Lily has escaped, and the town was practically leveled by the Witch that came and cast his fire spell to destroy it. As Lazarus and company walked over to the crowd, Ulboro could be heard finishing up a reading from the book he carried with him, while a number of Ilias Kruez members and Ulreik had their swords up at the ready. The new priest of Ilias then stepped forward, a copy of the holy book of the Iliasian faith cradled in his arms. The militiamen were grim-faced, knowing they were already dead from the baskets placed in front of them, while the denounced priest was clearly trying to break out of his bonds, crying and sobbing behind his bonds while Ulreik held him down with one arm. If one looked, Lazarus could make out a number of bruise marks on his face.

"It is now clear from what our friend here has proclaimed, that you are all guilty of being accessories, not just to the damnation of the women, men and children Lily performed her experiments on, but in letting a true Witch rise to power. Make no mistake, we are all to blame for what has happened, but you were charged and entrusted with the sacred duty of protecting this village." A number of the town militia shuffled uneasily, and none dared look in the eyes of those watching. "Instead, you actively allowed an age of horror and disgrace fall upon you, and perpetrated its continuance by your deeds, setting us one against the other. There is no compromise in the price for such sin, and for how you forced the hand of these newcomers who call themselves the Sigmarites to action against you alongside our saviors known as Ilias Kruez to render thus the punishment that I and this people can not perform. Thus, for consorting with the darkness of what is known as Chaos, by aiding and abetting in the mass murder, rape, and torture of this town, government corruption and negligence of your duty, and finally blasphemy and heresy against but the Church of Ilias and the Cult of Sigmar, I have no choice but to declare that you have all been sentenced to death. May Ilias, and Sigmar have your souls, wherever they may be in the afterlife."

With that, Ulreik shouted in a manner similar to an army officer, "Schwerter, erheben!" and drew his sword. The members of Ilias Kruez followed suit, raising their blades over their heads, as Lazarus looked and saw the sun was blood red in the sky.

"Die Ausfuehrung, beginnt!" with that, he lopped off one of the corrupted priests' head off, while the other executioners came down at the same time as he did. As blood spewed off from the bodies for a second, they hung there before falling down like rag dolls. With that, the crowd dispersed, while the line of executioners wiped off their bodies and carried the bodies of the guilty off to be disposed of...

**POV SHIFT**

As Shirome and the Strigoi Ghoul King which she served settled into the tomb of a destroyed village they were hiding in that Shirome remembered the existence of, the Artiste looked at him and asked him the question that was on her mind. "Why me? Is there a reason that you made me one of your kind?" the Vampire growled, as he opened one of the coffins of the tomb they were in, and examined the body inside. Notably, he seemed more interested in hiding inside it, then consuming the corpse. "Oi, I just replaced your arm, hand, and half the bones in your body with what I scrounged up from this tomb. Don't go breaking your replacements now Master." she said, then felt at the gaps in her teeth were ripped out by Alice, wincing as she did so. She also felt at the new stomach which she sutured to replaced her destroyed organ, using the knowledge of this world to graft everything, including some skin and muscle to patch up the hole in her body. With the magic of the other worlds' Necromancy, she got to feel the weird sensation of it combining with what she still had, making it almost good as new, at least until one see the scaring and discoloration of her skin.

"I won't." the Ghoul King snapped back, as he turned to his servant. "And watch your tongue young blood."

"Yeah yeah, old man." the Strigoi snarled softly, but did not retort. "So, you going to tell me your back story and such, and then what plans you have?"

"Yes. I didn't say so at the time when I first raised you because was focused on making sure our plan to escape would succeed first, but as it stands, I needed someone to update me on this world, as well as to be my eyes and ears during the night, and most of my brethren Strigoi are... not up to the task mentally. Plus, you were a kindred soul, one who was betrayed by her closest allies and friends." Shirome rolled her eyes, and made a disgusted grunt.

"Friends wasn't much of a description, more like my co-workers in seeking the Truth."

"Hmm, and what Truth is that?" the Vampire asked. "Secrets of the universe, and how magic affects it?"

"Something like that."

"Then you would've made a fine Necrarch. They are a Bloodline of Vampires, who seek to study the mysteries of the universe, but are paranoid and frail." he hopped into the coffin, and laid down into it. Shirome snickered at the sight, as the Vampire got out of it. She in particular noted that her hunger for semen died out, and replaced with a simmering rage, and a urge to hunt for blood that just can't seem to die. "Master Strigos, is there a cost to what had happened to me?" she referred to the 'Blood Kiss' as the Strigoi called it, as she examined her left arm, where a tear was slowly knitting itself as the evidence of the act which led to her having his blood poured into her body. She can still recall finding herself in Morrs' realm while that God of the dead was escorting those who ended up in his realm after Erubetie was slain by Gelt, and the look of rage he had as he tried to slay the Artiste with his scythe while the others looked on in confusion.

After she woke up, she found that she can move again, while the Ghoul King explained what he did to save her and who he was. At least somewhat, considering his first order of business was to prepare and eat the party from San Ilias to build up their strength. After wards, the two waited silently as the day turned to night, with Shirome sharpening her cleaver and cleaning it of blood like she was doing now.

"So then, how do the Vampires of your world govern themselves?" she asked, licking up some of the dried blood on the cleaver, cringing at its cold and bitter flavor. The Strigoi flinched, as though remembering a painful memory.

"Our history is, something the Strigoi are not proud of." he muttered darkly, as the thought seemed offensive. Either way, he turned to her, and started explaining his kinds history, to give context of what she had inherited. "But as for the other Bloodlines, they are as different to each other as one nation of Humans is to another. There are six such Bloodlines, from six individuals who were the first of our kind, in a land known as Nehekara from which Necromancy was born." with that, Shirome listened intently, as he told of the Lich known as Nagash, his rise to power and downfall. Then, of how many centuries later, Neferata would learn of his recipe for the Elixir of Life, which granted unto one immortality and great power over Dark Magic. She would make one for herself, intent on having the same powers he did, and partook of it. However, the Elixir was made specifically to Nagash, so it gave her what she wanted, at the cost of becoming the First Vampire.

Shirome listened intently, as she was told of how she shared with four others, which made her pause. "But that would make five, not six Bloodlines." her master then held up a clawed hand, and replied.

"Correct, and that was because she denied it to her brother Ushoran, as she was childish and sought to keep him as someone who she could humiliate and beat down at will." Shirome crunched up her nose at the thought. "Even, he wouldn't not be denied the birthright for long, as he eventually recreated the Elixir on his own, insulting the Queen of Vampires in the process, both from defying her will, and becoming her equal on his terms, not hers. With that, Ushoran would become the progenitor of the Sixth Bloodline, the Strigoi."

"Well now, good on him." Shirome commented, until she noticed something was wrong. "...is this were things went downhill for the Bloodline or something?"

"Not quite. See eventually, Nagash returned, and subjugated the Vampires into following his every word. Eventually, he launched a second war to reclaim Nehekara, with the aide of the Skaven who spread a number of poisons and disease in the land, setting it up for us to quickly raise an army. The Nehekarans, however, learned from the first war, and thus unleashed a new weapon they had developed: a number of constructs built to resemble their holy statues and idols were unleashed, which were capable of leveling much of our army, and bolstered their remaining forces. Even so, Nagash was yet winning due to sabotage by our agents and the Skavens own methods. Eventually, the Vampires fled and abandoned him, and thus we were cursed for our betrayal. This curse is why we can not go out into the day, lest the sun burns us into ash."

"As the other Bloodlines went into hiding for the next thousand years, the Strigoi under Ushoran would build an empire, known by the same name as my title, Stroigos. In it, we ruled our subjects fairly, unlike the others during the time of Nehekara when Neferata ruled in Lahmia. While her actions and wanton feeding on her subjects would create a stigma that lasts to this day, the Strigoi only fed on those who disobeyed our laws or declared themselves enemies of Stroigos, and ensured those we ruled over prospered." it was then that his face took a dark scowl. "However, it was not meant to be, due to the machinations of Neferata."

"What had she done?" Shirome asked, sensing the silent wave of hate before her master verbally expressed it. As he spoke, she swore his body trembled, as though he was reliving the memory of what he was describing.

"Ushoran, not one to horde his subjects, invited the other Bloodlines to come and partake of his new kingdom, something which Neferata considered a second insult, as accepting would mean acknowledging that he succeeded in creating that which she failed to do: a nation where the Vampire can rule without fear of being hunted by Humanity. So, her spies slew the messengers Ushoran sent, and framed him as intending to sacrifice the others to Nagash. Eventually, Strigos would find itself besieged on all sides by the other Bloodlines, and it would then fall as the Strigoi were forced to scatter and hide, lest we would all be exterminated by our traitorous kin. To survive, we had to feed on the cold and bitter corpses of the dead, as we could not hide for long amongst the living. As time wore on, many like me began to develop forms like what you see before you." the Strigoi gestured to his body, which was like unto a predator of the night. "In order to survive living in the isolated and dark places of the world where few tread, we changed from something vaguely resembling Human forms into the form of the beast that was better suited to fighting anything that came to hunt us. But so did effect the minds of the Strigoi, as our bitterness and anger was something most Vampires can not endure feeling for such a long time. Thus, the majority of Strigoi, if you encountered them, are insane, oft pretending the sackcloth and furs they wear is royal robes of gold, and their servants raised from the dead in the ruins they dwell are servants and friends long dead."

"By the gods..." Shirome muttered. "That is why you called me a 'kindred soul' and made me one of your own?" she asked, inspecting her cleaver, and staring into the mirror. As a pang of guilt came over the new Vampire, her master broke the silence to draw her mind away from her memories.

"Yes, but also a choice made pragmatically, for the Strigoi, as much as we have warped into beasts, are not as mindless as those outside our Bloodline may think, but even now the decay of the Strigoi is reaching an apex. In fact, I came here, specifically so that we may rebuild Strigos once again, for unless the Bloodline can reunite and form a new nation, we will become mindless beasts and be slaughtered. So I was sent to this world to help set forth our coming to power, and also if possible, raise an army without the other Bloodlines to interfere. Are there any particular burial sites, such as mass grave left over from the Great Monster Wars?"

"Well, I happen to know where we can get a ship of ghosts to help us travel by sea, and a considerable number of sites with plenty of dead to raise both a navy, army, and aerial units, mostly sites of where many corpses were buried." Shirome said, as she thought about her memories of her pre-Vampire life."All that remains is finding a way back that does not involve the Gods, so that leaves finding a Skaven base and running through their portal technology."

"Hmm." the Strigoi sat down on his hunches, and thought about it. "As unstable as their Warpstone-based magitech is, it is our only shot, and we will only have the one. And we will be almost guaranteed end up in one of their strongholds. Alright, unless we find a better way, we will have to ambush and raid a Skaven base, and use their portals to return to our world to reunite with the rest of our Bloodline gathering in what is known as the Badlands, where our kingdom once resides." Shirome nodded.

"Well I have a place amongst the newly rebuilt Strigos?" Shirome asked. With that, her master looked at her.

"If you are diligent, and bring glory to the name of the Strigoi in the battles to come, yes you will be accepted as one of the Blood, for I must also warn you, the others may not approve of my making you one of us at first." Shirome nodded her head. She expected something along those lines. Even so, to have been accepted by the creature, who she could relate to, that only encouraged her.

"Well now, what shall we do until night comes?" the Artiste Vampire asked. With that, her master sighed as he scratched his head.

"Sleep." with that, he hobbled over the gray coffin, and laid himself down on top of it. "And I will teach you how to hunt and refine your powers come moon rise." Shirome looked at him, then moved aside a coffin, and due to actually fitting into it, pulled the cover stone back on top to encase her with the corpse inside.

**POVSHIFT**

As Cassandra and her daughter Emily from Lady Village were on their way to Witch Hunt Village along with one of their servants, the small Monster looked at her mother, dressed in an elegant royal red dress. She also noticed a necklace around her neck, which had an icon of some kind she did not recognize from her studies. "Mother, what is that necklace, and where did you get in?"

"Oh this, this is something that I was given in for a very special occasion." the adult Nereneid said. "If we happen to find a specific person, we will know by them recognizing it."

"Why are you looking for this person mi'Lady?" the servant, a Spider Girl asked. She was a pale red color, with violet hair and pink eyes and wore a green dress which formed around her Human form, and disappeared when she showed her true body. "Previously, you never mentioned them, just said to pack up and look for them yourself."

"Well, it has come to my attention that this one traveler is more then meets the eye." with that, the Spider had a look of disdain. "No, not that bumbling boy Alice is with, but they are Human. Specifically, a Human who is here as an envoy of his Gods from the Other World."

"Why should we care about these Gods we never knew of until now, especially when Humans worship them? They have not so much as... why are you looking at me like that?" the Spider Girl asked, when she saw Cassandra was staring at her like she was some peasant that wandered into the village. Emily felt some amount of fear as she observed this sudden change in her mothers' mood, and saw the Spider Girl shirking back, worried that this was the prelude to being eaten by her master. "M-m-my l-l-Lady Nenereid, I was only p-p-pointing out that we have done just fine with just the Dark Goddess as our figure of worship." the terrified Monster said, stammering as she felt a chill run down her spine. When Cassandra placed a hand on the Spider Girls' shoulder, she suddenly smiled.

"Of course, I am aware of that. But you must remember, the Monster Lords' Castle was taken by Humans from the Other World, and they also slew a Heavenly Knight. Surely, you can't fault me for being a bit curious about the religion of these people, especially when I learned that Humans have many different Gods there, yes?" the Monster outcast said in a friendly tone, which was frankly hollow and false in the eyes of Emily and her servant. Either way, the Spider Girl and her simply nodded their heads and agreed, lest the situation escalate. With that, Cassandra turned back around and continued down the path they were walking down, causing them to glance at each other with looks of concern of just what is happening to her.

As they made camp for the night, Emily went to go explore a river bank, and settled into the ice-cold water. Due to being a Scylla, she could endure far greater temperature extremes and pressure as befitting the octopus-based Monster species, and in fact took comfort in feeling of the water as she shifted into her Monster form. As her hair turned into two octopus tentacles, she used them to lap up the water so it splashed on her face, letting the events of the day play out in her mind. It was suspicious what was happening with her mother, and it concerned Emily greatly. First, mother had let out that scream of pure mind numbing terror and pain while a crashing sound was heard that awoke the entirety of Lady Village. Then, when Emily ran over and tried to come in to comfort her, mother acted like she was perfectly fine.

Now, they're going to look for some Human, who is some kind of priest if what her mother said able them is true that they are gong to join in worshiping some unknown God. It just didn't make sense! Her mother has always been a follower of the Dark Goddess Alipheese Fateburn, who stood for her creations, and fought for them when Ilias declared her intent to wipe out the Monsters. Why would she care what this Human thought about, and what he worshiped?

As she was deep in thought, Emily dipped under the water, and proceeded to meditate, her physiology allowing the Scylla to breathe under water. When her stomach rumbled, it reminded her that she had not eaten dinner yet, and thus proceeded to go hunting. Using the lessons that her mother taught her, the Scylla used her scrying ability to scan for a target, and smiled sadistically as she found one in a lone Frog Girl that was nearby. Sensing there was no others of her kind around, the Scylla picked her out.

As she swam, Emily subtlety used her abilities to change her skin and eyes to match the shimmering of the water. While the Scylla was able to camouflage herself in the water like so, she was still learning how to do it when on land, and can't quick change the surface of her skin yet. As the Monster she was hunting looked up and sniffed the current, she cursed to herself mentally and she squeezed herself behind a rock. She had not taken into account that she was moving downstream, and thus the water would carry her scent. The Frog Girl likely picked up on it getting stronger, and thus wondered why she smelled another Monster getting closer.

"Hello, is anybody there?" the Monster asked. "Did you want anything?" Thankfully, Emily was about fifty meters or so, so her camouflaged skin will still be effective. Remembering how bendable a Scylla is in general, Emily proceeded to shift and wrap her flesh, and due to her having less bones in her Monster-half, soon made it appear that she was stuck in the rocks.

"Hel-help!" Emily squeaked out, make a loud gasp of pain. "Emily is stuck between two rocks!"

"By the Goddess! Where are you Emily? What happened?" the Frog cried out. As Emily passively scanned the direction the Frog was at, and smiled as they got closer. Thirty meters.

"Emily was attacked by another Monster, a Charybdis who smashed her with a rock!" Emily lied, making another gasping sound and a crying sound. If there was one part of her studies she loved, it was acting. Thankfully, the Frog Girl was naïve, or lacking in magic enough to fall for it, such was the stupidity of Monsters birthed and raised in the wilds. Twenty five meters. Twenty. Ten.

"Wait, how did I miss you, and a Charybdis in the same area?" Bugger. Twenty two meters.

"Emily is a Scylla, we are able to hide well. She was swimming away from the ocean to get away from her, but she eventually caught up to her, beat her, and left her here to die! Emily didn't want to give away her position to anyone willing to finish the job, so she used her ability to blend in to hide..." Emily then de-camouflaged a tentacle, and stuck it out were its yellow and white coloring would be visible. "...see?" After a moment passed, the Frog swam closer to the daughter of Cassandra Nereneid, who licked her lips. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six.

"Alright, I can just about make out your figure. Can you drop the stealth for now, so I can asses the injuries." Point range at three meters. As Emily dropped the camouflage, she untwisted her body, spiraled up as she sucked in some water threw a water jet hidden in her lower half, and shot forth like a missile, tackling and smashing the Frog Girl as a look of terror and recognition of what she had waltzed into crossed the amphibious Monsters' face. As she was slammed into the river, Emily quickly smashed her prey into the riverbed, and covered the Frog Girls' mouth with a tentacle as she cried out in pain.

As the two struggled and panicked, the muffled screams of the Frog Girl intensified as Emily smashed her arm with her fist and held it there, and stomped her legs to prevent her target from escaping. It was pathetic how frail this one was, likely why she was left behind by her sisters. With that, Emily prepared to digest her meal, which stared in horror as the octopus part of her body began to wrap around the now useless legs. The Frog Girl grabbed a rock with her good arm, and managed to throw it before Emily saw the arm moving. However, the Scylla caught it, and then smiled malevolently as she crushed it into dust. The Frog Girl then tried to punch Emily in the face, only for her to dodge the attack by shifting her head sideways in an unnatural way. She then proceeded to grab the Frog Girl by the wrist with her own free arm, who was now crying in fear at this point, as she felt herself being sucked into the Scylla to be eaten.

"Emily! Where are you?" Cassandra called out, causing her daughter to look up at the surface of the water, then back at the Frog Girl. Growling in annoyance, Emily then swam upwards, carrying the sobbing Monster she caught with in her octopus mouth, mouth still covered up. As she broke through the surface, she saw her mother turned at the sound she made. "Ah, there you are. I was looking for you... what have you got there my child?" the Amoeba asked, as she noticed Emilys' weirdly jinking her head, the result of her prey continuing to struggle against the Scylla swimming to shore with her inside.

"Emily was hunting, and then caught herself a meal mommy!" she cried out joyfully, crawling out on the riverbank with her prey, presenting it with a look of pride. Cassandra looked at the Frog Girl, and smiled. The Monster Emily caught had a hopeful look, as one of the commandments of Goddess Alipheese Fateburn was 'Thou shall honor thy Mother and Matriarch above thine own.'

"Good my daughter. Have you been following your lessons well?" the Amoeba asked, the look of shock in the Frogs' eyes apparent as Cassandra congratulated her daughter for harming another Monster. Pleading eyes were then met with the cruel and merciless eyes of the two, as she was finally swallowed up by Emily save for her arm, which was now thrashing wildly and clawing at the mud furtively. "As it happens, the Human I have been looking for has come to us." with that, the Spider Maid stepped out from the bushes, a look of nervous apparition on her face as a horse of some kind followed her. Emily also felt something was wrong with it, as its mouth was oddly deformed, while the old man and young woman that rode on it carried an aura of... something about them. She did not know why, but the hairs on the back of her neck went up at how the raven on the mans' shoulder and horse looked at her, her instincts set alight that they were dealing with something dangerous.

"Mom, are you sure about this? I still don't like the idea of dealing with this Human..." Emily said, slipping out of her usual referencing herself through illeism. The old man simply grinned silently behind Cassandra, as she placed a hand on her daughter, and Emily could have sworn his face turned into that of... something before it changed back.

"Now now, my daughter. I'm only hear him out, we'll take him to the village, and if he is not satisfactory, we'll... take care of him." the Amoeba said sweetly, trying to comfort her disturbed daughter. The old man then spoke up, just enough to be heard.

"I'm sure the offer of the Gods I am acting as the messenger and voice for will more than satisfy any questions and concerns you have." the old man said.

"Wait, you were supposed to have been at one of the Human Villages. Why are you here, and who is she?" the Spider Maid asked, as she looked at him and his acquittance, who thus far had watched silently. However, upon being asked this, the woman with him spoke up.

"Ah yes, my name is Lily, and I'm this servant of the Gods' apprentice. He found me back at the Witch Hunt Village." the Spider looked over at Cassandra, then the Humans.

"Witch Hunt Village? What were you doing there?"

"I was in fact the mayor until recent events, as Ilias Kruez had unfortunately caused us to vacate the premises as they discovered we had been experimenting with Dark Magic under everyones' noses there." Cassandra visibly grew interested in this, while the other Monsters only looked on in confusion.

"Well, that sounds fascinating, but perhaps you can explain what has been going on over there, and what we are dealing with while I show you the way home as my guests?" Cassandra suggested, as Emily finished up with her meal. "We have much to discuss on the way, and the forest has ears as they say..."

**POV SHIFT**

Deep within the mountains of Sentora, where most Monsters did not go due to a lack of the Human men they seek to thrive and breed with, a hedge of stone was erected. At first glance, one would assume that it had been there for a long time. And while it was true the stone there were ancient and been there a long time, a closer inspection would reveal an oddity within the rock, which was clearly not from same source as that surrounding it, along with the forgotten symbol of the Druids being roughly recreated by their layout when one looks at it from above. In between one set of arches, one of them stepped out of the ring, while a mist was emitted from it. The normally dark chamber was then lit up with an ethereal glow emitting from arch and died out as it closed, as the Druid ran down a tunnel, not crashing into the walls despite the sheer darkness around him.

With his Sight, the Druid had no need for the sun and the stars, the Currents of Magic being all the forgotten creations of Ilias require to navigate such an environment as this. His steps also did not echo, as the Druid ran down the corridor and eventually found an open chamber, where others of his kin were gathered around a table with a map of the world carved into it. While there was more of them, only two were speaking, mostly for ease of communication.

"He can't be allowed to continue the slaughter, the Dark Goddess will take her fury out upon the people of Ilias, and maybe even find this place! The release of Minagi into this world is proof that she is being stirred from her slumber, so what are we to do if the Abomination is the next one of her daughters to be allowed to walk upon this world once more?" one voice could be heard speaking. "Balthasar Gelt and his men must be removed from the Castle, and returned to the Other World at once."

"How can we? Hellgondo is a hellscape that none can enter, and our creator will no doubt be enraged to learn we have been here all this time, despite the fact we do not have the numbers or power to fight the Monsters."

"What about the Heavenly Knight of Earth? Mayhaps we can enlist her aid, and perhaps try to intervene to help her plan for co-existence?"

"No, we don't know what her endgame is. Remember how the Ancestor she is named after caused many a nation to fall to ruin before Ilias instituted our creation and purpose. We were supposed to be the Shield to the Angels' Spear, but now we have been shattered since the Abomination nearly exterminated us after her vile power was granted by the Dark Goddess, and drove us into hiding." with that, the other Druids became aware of their new member, as he finally entered the room.

"Its' about the Witch Hunt Village." the Druid who entered the room said. He then gave a full recreation of what had happened in the Village, as well as how the two responsible for its devastation had escaped.

"By Heavens Light. This has gone for far too long. We can't afford to hide here any longer!" the one advocating for intervention carried out.

"Do not be hasty. If even half of what we suspect is happening is true, we can not intervene. Remember what the Travelers said about the time lines, and what will happen if they do not end in the fashion they should. As far as we know, there's no telling with everything so far is playing out like it should. Erubetie, for example died before we could stop Gelt from doing so, and this could-"

"To be frank about the Paradox, to Hell with that crock of horse-shit. I refuse to believe that our world and everything we fought for is damned to be erased if we do anything that cause the world to be shaped to be different to that of some other world where we do not even exist because of some arbitrary law of nature! Unless half the planet dying out because the Dark Goddess breaks out of her seal, and throws a temper tantrum at everything not going her way is a part of it, which I refuse to believe is the case. I do not know what the hell this place has going for it, but I can not take any more of this! Ilias Kruez has been trying to do that which we were meant to do for at least a decade, and are failing because they do not have our magic, aide, or support from the very people they fight for!"

"But half the group are unhinged murderers that kill more Humans then Monsters."

"And how many Monsters like the Nereneids did we allow to flourish in Lady Village alone, who slaughter their own kin with disregard like they do Humans, and simply over some bullshit philosophy that it is their birthright to do so solely because they have the power to slay their own kind? The Imperials are right to hate and fear the Monsters, so long as even one Monster like Cassandra lives and breathes. These ones are black marks on our heads, the reminder of our failures, and Ilias Kruez has nothing to fight back with. Even more, they became just like them because the last attempt by anyone to establish co-existence was sabotaged by the current Monster Lord when she was but a child!" silence accompanied the emotional outburst that was let out by the Druid in question. A mumbling could be heard as several agreed with this assessment. As the noise died down, the Druid who was arguing for not doing anything sighed.

"I hope you know what you are doing. If you're wrong, then we're done for the moment we reveal ourselves..."